1. Field of the Disclosure
This application generally relates to palletizers, such as for corrugated bundles, and related matters.
2. Background of the Disclosure
Manufacturing operations often use conveyors to move products as they are produced, and after they are produced, onto a device where finished products are bundled and stacked onto a pallet. The latter type of device is sometimes called a “palletizer”.
It sometimes occurs that stacking finished products involves a number of operations, such as rotating the bundle, positioning the bundle, and squaring its location with respect to the stack. This can mean that stacking bundles can take a relatively long time to occur, which can slow the production line, or alternatively, cause the stacking operation to produce lesser-quality stacks. This can cause difficulty when it is desired to stack bundles relatively quickly, such as when the production line is operating relatively quickly, or when a finishing device that is processing the bundles is operating relatively quickly.
It also sometimes occurs that stacking finished products involves placing the bundle onto a tier, such as organizing bundles into a pattern while they are stacked. This can occur when the bundles are placed in an arrangement other than a linear stack, such as to provide support in the event that the stack of bundles might sway or tilt. This can cause difficulty when combining tier placement and stacking, as another tier of bundles cannot generally be positioned until the stack of such tiers is “squared up” or otherwise stabilized.
Each of these examples, as well as other possible considerations, can cause difficulty in aspects of a manufacturing production system that includes an operation for relatively high-speed palletizing. This problem might be an issue when palletizing bundles for a relatively high-speed production line, or when palletizing bundles when a relatively high-speed finishing device is processing the bundles.